Beach Pictures

The Wharf

Naptime. Brooke slept in our bed.  She thought that was the greatest thing.  Unfortunately last night was very difficult to get her to sleep in her room.  Naptime today was easy, so we are hoping she is back in the routine.

There was a nightly lights show on Main Street at our condo. Actually it was three times...every night.  And it is clearly heard inside the condo when you are trying to get to sleep.  Thankfully it didn't bother the girls, and us adults were usually up until after the last show anyway.  Now the amphitheater that is right there...that's another story.  I'm glad that they only had one nighttime concert while we were there.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.  I love that her hair is so easy to put up in a bun and then pen in my purse did just the trick to holding it up.

Brooke is very sensitive to loud sounds, so she was not enjoying the show.  I took her for a walk and into a few stores while the other girls watched the show and danced to the music.

View of Main Street from our condo.  Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of the marina off of the back deck.

The older two absolutely love the bunk beds in the closet.

I took Kayla and Brooke up on the ferris wheel one night. Macy didn't want to ride.  We had 2 free tickets and ages 3 and under are free, so we got a free ride for all of us! We had just gone about 1/3 of the way around and stopped for them to load some other groups.  Kayla said, "what if this (the gondola) breaks off of the ferris wheel and falls down?" And "what if someone opens the door and falls out?" I'm not a huge fan of heights and didn't appreciate those questions!

Stay tuned for more!

Orange Beach Vacation

We just returned home from a quick vacation to Orange Beach, AL. We are so thankful to Marc's co-worker for allowing us to come and stay in her condo.  The kids look forward to this trip every year. While the condo is not on the beach, it does have a fabulous pool and shopping area.  It is far worth the trade-off of having to pack the car up and drive 10 minutes to the beach. Be prepared for picture overload over the next few days. This is my scrapbook and there are so many pictures I want included. These days are fleeting and I love documenting with photographs.

 

Scaring the sea gulls away.  The girls enjoy feeding them, and although it was just some leftover dinner this night they attracted quite a crowd of birds.  I made them go far away from us, but one bird did manage to leave a present on Marc's shoulder as it flew overhead. 

Obviously these two have some Ben Franklin blood running through their veins. :)

Kayla ended up getting stung by a jellyfish this trip.  We hadn't seen anything in the water, but apparently some tentacles got her. She had a spot on the back of her knee, finger, and both arms.  Thankfully the lifeguards had some vinegar to spray on her.  I had thought about picking up some meat tenderizer just in case this happened, but never did. Lesson learned.  We bought vinegar and tenderizer later that day but of course didn't need them again.

They managed to catch one fish before we left. Thankfully they understood that it wasn't coming in the car with their seashell collection!

Macy's News

Macy is excited to share that she now has reading glasses.  She is ever so slightly far-sighted, and the doctor said she really could go with or without glasses for reading/computer. He did think that she might enjoy reading more if she did have the glasses.  Once he said that I couldn't sign on the dotted line fast enough! ha! She picked out a cute little pair with a flower on the side.  She loves them and is excited about wearing them. I hope there is something psychological about them that makes her want to read more. :) A quick funny story: When we got home from her eye doctor appointment it was rest time.  Brooke takes a nap and the other two have some quiet time in their rooms reading first, and then playing. When I told her to get her books she said, "but I can't read without my glasses!" Don't think so girl!

Roller Skating... It's Not the Same as it was 20 Years Ago

Kayla and Macy have been asking to go ice skating for months. I don't do ice skating.  I tried it once when I was about 10 years old.  It was a miserable experience and I have no plans on ever trying again. Now roller skating is different.  We had school spirit nights at the roller skating rink and at one point I even owned a pair of skates and would skate around the neighborhood (at least I have some vague memories of that). So when Marc ended up with a note under his pillow from a sweet little 6 year old asking to go skating, we knew it was time to take them.  Plus, we had two free admissions. We made a plan and surprised the girls one afternoon after church. 

They were SO excited.

After practicing on the carpet a bit Kayla was ready to get on the rink.  She was surprised at how much slicker it was, but she was a trooper.

We rented one of these cool little contraptions for Brooke, and then we went back and got one for Macy.  Once Kayla got a hold of one she took off around the rink.  She did such a great job and had so much fun.  She hated to leave, but we promised to bring her back.  

Brooke took one step on the rink and decided that the carpet was for her. She was able to move around pretty well without the aid of the walker.

Macy hated the rink as well.  I can't blame her.  I finally did one lap.  I was holding on to Marc at first, but then Brooke wasn't happy that we left so he went back for her.  I did manage to make it all the way around without falling, but it was not easy!

Marc did get Macy to go around one time, but after that she circled the rink on the carpet.

It was a fun little adventure for the afternoon, and I'm glad we went.  Kayla absolutely loved it.  The rest of us girls could take it or leave it. I'm sure with some more practice I would get the hang of it better, but my balance and muscles aren't the same as they used to be!